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STEALING didn’t pay and THE ROSES withered on the boxoffice vine.

August fizzled out to no one’s surprise, leaving exhibitors hoping September will kick off on the right foot 9/5 with Warner Bros./New Line/Atomic Monster’s R rated horror thriller THE CONJURING: THE LAST RITES.

Domestic ticket sales this weekend were $65.6M (3 days), according to Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian. That’s up 3.9% from the prior weekend and down 23% vs. this time last year. Comscore’s year to date tally has 2025 at $5.98B, up 3.91% from $5.75B in 2024. The prior weekend showed 2025 up 5.07% vs. last year. Sad to say, but on 6/8 this year was up 26.08%, per Comscore.

Despite Hollywood handicappers’ enthusiastic projections for a $4B domestic summer, the season wound up at $3.67M, per Comscore, down 0.2% from last summer’s $3.77B. Moviegoers turned out to see films they really wanted to see and it would have been a strong summer had the studios released more of those.

Meanwhile, back at the multiplexes: Warner Bros./New Line Cinema’s WEAPONS was #1 again in weekend five, per Comscore, with an estimated $12.4M (today’s estimates are for the four day Labor Day weekend) at 3,416 theatres. It’s done $132.4M domestically & $234.6M worldwide. BUDGET BUZZ: $38M to pick up.

Universal & Zanuck/Brown Productions’ 50th anniversary re-release of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster JAWS — Hollywood’s first tentpole succe$$ — placed second with an estimated $9.8M at 3,200 theatres. That brings its lifetime worldwide cume to $487.7M on a budget of $7M.

Sony Pictures’ R rated crime comedy thriller CAUGHT STEALING opened #3 to an estimated $9.5M at 3,578 theatres. BUDGET BUZZ: $40M to produce after tax credits.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky (THE FOUNTAIN), it stars Austin Butler & Regina King. It’s tracking below norm for first choice with all demos. Rotten Tomatoes critics like it at 84% and so do audiences at 86%.

Searchlight Pictures/Adler Entertainment’s R rated comedy THE ROSES, a remake of the 1989 hit THE WAR OF THE ROSES, opened #5 to an estimated $8M at 2,700 theatres. It also did $9.2M in international theatres for a global cume of $17.2M.

Directed by Jay Roach (TRUMBO), it stars Olivia Colman & Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s tracking below norm for first choice with all demos. Rotten Tomatoes critics are thumbs down at 65% while audiences are a blah 77%.

Next weekend (9/5) 🐝🐝🐝🐝: Warner Bros./New Line/Atomic Monster’s R rated horror thriller THE CONJURING: THE LAST RITES is opening at about 3,500 theatres with a broad IMAX footprint. RITES is tracking best for first choice with under-25 women (14 points over norm).

Directed by Michael Chaves (THE NUN II), it stars Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga.